The Schlafly Beer Employee Blog

Archive for the From The Brewhouse category

While some might celebrate 23 years of joy and happiness with the traditional anniversary gift of an Imperial Topaz gemstone, Schlafly Beer has chosen to honor our faithful fans with an Imperial Topaz IPA. The concept and the recipe is the work of Schlafly Brewmaster, James “Otto” Ottolini. ﻿

The Saint Louis Brewery has a new draft Hard Apple Cider pouring from taps throughout our distribution area and we wanted to take a moment to tell you a little more about this offering. We’ve asked James “Otto” Ottolini, our Head of Brewery Innovation and Technology to give us all the cidery details.

Not too long ago our Co-Founder, Dan Kopman found himself at Eataly in New York enjoying a beer brewed with Italian chestnuts and as often happens when enjoying a good pint, Dan got to thinking. As it turns out, Missouri is home to a great deal of the nut trees in the US, including delicious local chestnuts. Dan asked his friend, James Beard Award nominated chef, Gerard Craft if he was interested in working on a beer together. Gerard sourced over 200 lbs. of local chestnuts (some of the sweetest he had ever tasted) from farmer, Brent Fadler in Centralia, MO (pop. 4,000) and he and his crew got to roasting and peeling them…by hand! Gerard and his wife Suzie worked closely with Dan to create a recipe to showcase the locally sourced chestnuts and ultimately decided upon an American twist on an English Mild Ale. All that was left was a fun day in the brewhouse.

What’s in a name? What matters is the true nature of something and how it satisfies the true sense, taste and flavor of our heart’s desire. Were Juliet Capulet here to imbibe today, she might say “ A beer by any other name would taste as sweet…”

Weird things can happen in a hop field at one in the morning. Stuffing a surprise 200 lb. bale of mystery hops into an already full cargo van is one thing. Also though, envelopment in the overwhelming aroma of hops and the dark walls of nearby trellised fields can bring a long-time brewer feelings of introspection and sentimentality. Follow a hop farmer through his fields in the dark, and a long connection with a bine called humulus lupulus, becomes deeper, more intrinsic. There is also evidence of hard work reaping rewards, hope in a strong future, and a recognition that things in the brewing industry are changing.

Hello and welcome to a post about Love. Really, that is all anything amounts to when you get right down to it. Almost anything we do, be it bad or good we do to get Love – such an innocent word. Bo Diddley asked the proverbial question “Who do you love?” Some doubt remains as to whether Bo was quoting the actual Book of Proverbs. Another stellar performer, Nat King Cole crooned in “Nature Boy” that “the greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return”. This may help answer the question “why do we love?”.

On Friday June 21st we will be tapping our second real sour beer at the Schlafly Tap Room at 11:00. Second? Real? Let me explain. In 2010 we made a batch of Oud Bruin for our HOP in the City beer festival at the Tap Room in September (if you have never been, it is easily our best festival.) We had tasted a sour cherry brown ale earlier that year at Repeal of Prohibition Festival from an out of state brewery and we all loved it (I cannot remember which brewery it was, or even which state we were hosting that year.) We liked it so much that we decided to recreate it to the best of our abilities. What was so interesting about this beer was that it was sour, but it didn’t take years to make.

We have been making Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout since 2006, but never before has it tasted like this. As our brewery continues to grow quality control becomes an ever growing more cirtical issue. The key is to continue to make the best possible beer, despite brewing three times as much as we did in 2006.

Bacon. Campfire. Barbeque. These are just some of the words you might hear describing the Rauchbier that is now on draft at the Tap Room. So, what in the world is a Rauchbier?? In the simplest terms, Rauchbier is a smoked beer.﻿

Today is the 4th of July. America’s Independence Day. A day to join hand-in-hand with our loved ones and neighbors to celebrate the freedoms that we are so privileged to enjoy. For many, this is also a day to relax, listen to some John Philip Sousa, bask in a fireworks display, stoke up the BBQ, and pour yourself a cold Schlafly American IPA, the most patriotic beer in the known universe.﻿